I’ve just recently picked up my cards again, been out of the scene for a few years now. Between the work I do for a living (roofing) and getting older my hands are dry as hell, I can’t handle a deck of cards like use to. I’ve tried everything nothing seems to work, I was wondering if anyone else gets dry hand syndrome and what you use to get a better grip.
Thanks
Dai Vernon's favorite solution to dry, tough skin can be summed up in two words -- CORN HUSKERS! It was the one hand lotion the old geezer loved most and I'll go so far to say that he hooked many others on it as well.
I can't give you much in way of help for joint pain in the hands other than to tell you to get used to it... it starts young in most of us and gets progressively worse over the years. Especially if you work with your hands doing actual physical work like carpentry, welding, roughing, etc. Even for those of us that built props and ran warehouses filled with them, the body gets beat-up and broken down -- show biz is one of the hardest trades going!
Talk to a physical therapist, chiropractor that does hand adjustments, rhematulogist, etc. about exercises and therapies you can to to help with the current discomfort you are juggling but likewise, what you can to to help protect your hands and keep them healthy for the long run... one of the most basic steps being "strength building" by using a squeeze ball, tension grips and other such devices. There are also yogo type techniques you can apply.
Best of luck!